I too am a casual bird watcher, as time allows with the children's
schedules. I bird my neighborhood from my house to my child's elementary
school a half mile away. I always find it interesting which birds I see.
There are the chickadee's that come to the Yew trees by my front window, the
robins that hang out in the yards or dig through the leaves swept from the
gutter across the street. I can look out my window and see the towhee's and
junco's under our maple tree. The flock of bushtits comes through the yard
and heads up the street, at least twice a day, and we have our fair share of
finches and sparrows (several varieties). There is a pair of pileated
woodpeckers that are doing a very good job at digging out the side of two
wood power poles, and I am almost assured of seeing at least one of them on
my afternoon walk to or from the school. My husband made a comment the
other day about not having seen any Harry Woodpeckers for a while, and that
very afternoon as I walked by my neighbors evergreen tree one cheeped at me
from about six feet away up the trunk. I was pleases to see a pair of
golden crowned kinglets flitting around a tree last Wednesday, we usually
see the ruby crowned in our ornamental cherry.

We have the constant attendance of American crows. As well we have two pair
of mallard ducks that live up the street.

With the exception of the kinglets and Harry Woodpecker, I see most of these
birds on a daily basis and even though they are common, I still delight in
watching them in the few minutes I can spare to do so.

Sometimes I think it is best to enjoy what is right in front of you, rather
than despair at what you could have seen.

Melissa McKenzie
Walking distance from St. Edwards State Park

Melissa McKenzie
bmsh.mckenzie at gte.net
Kenmore By The Lake

_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of
cwilsdon at earthlink.net
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 12:44 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Constance's Discouraged Birder Item!


Constance, just wanted to say I really enjoyed your piece about being a
discouraged birder :) I can hardly count myself as a birder because as a
busy working mom and fearful driver and generally tuckered-out person I
don't really ever go out birding per se, though I do take the opportunity
wherever I am to look for birds and keep an eye on the ones in my garden and
neighborhood...and imagine perhaps that when my child is older I'll have
more of an opportunity to dive into this interest. I do encourage her to be
interested, too, but right now she tends to think it's just something
"wacky" her mom is into and therefore it is something to be viewed as simply
amusing.
As for birds--just the usual juncos, chickadees, and our resident
Bewick's wren fluttering around our soggy yard, but it's fun to watch them
(the cats watch them, too--strictly from indoors!!-- but with a different
gleam in their eyes). On the one warm, sunny day in the last week or so,
there were about 5 or 6 chickadees flittering about in the trees and
squabbling, calling "chickadee" at each other--nobody was "fighting," but if
it was part of a mixed winter flock, it sure looked like a hint of spring's
hormonally induced bickering! There are also the resident crows, plus a lot
of pigeons and gulls in the neighborhood lately (Ballard-Phinney).
Christina
cwilsdon at earthlink net Seattle